Combined singletree and spreader.



No. 645,475. Patented Mar. [3, moo.

n. r. KING.

COMBINED SINGLETBEE AND SPREADER,

(Application filed Aug. 16, 1899.)

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- Y NiTE COMBINED SINGLETREE AND SPREADER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 645,475, dated March 13, 1900.

Application filed August 16', 1899. Serial No. 727,394. (No model.)

erence marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in singletree and spreader at-.

tachments; and itconsists in the provision of a spreader-bar carrying at its ends clevises which are connected to the singletrees and to which crotch-chains are connected. By this construction strain will be equally distributed, and owing to the peculiar construction of the spreader-bar the latter is prevented from bending.

The inventionhas for a further object the provision of an improvement in means heretofore employed for attaching traces to the whiffietrees.

To these ends and to such others as the invention may pertain the same consists in the peculiar construction and in the novel combination, arrangement, and adaptation of parts, all as more fully hereinafter described, shown in the accompanying drawings, and then specifically defined in the appended claims. I

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which with the letters of reference marked thereon form part of this application, and in which drawings Figure l is a top plan view of my improved spreader-bar with singletree attachments. Fig. 2 is a rear view of the same. Fig. 3 is a transverse section upon the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail in perspective of one end of the singletree, showing the trace-hook and its connections. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail in perspective of the channelplate attachment to the singletree, and Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail in perspective of a modified form of clevis attachment.

Reference now being had to the details of vsame from spreading.

the drawings by letter, A designates the spreader-bar, which is made, preferably, of a single piece of metal bent upon itself at its middle portion and having perforations a a at each end. At the middle portion of the said bar is a rod 13, which is provided to keep the two longitudinal sections of the spreaderbar at a given distance apart and prevent Carried on the pins 0 in the perforations a in said bar A are the clevis members D and D, the former of which has one end contracted with a recess D which is provided to allow one end of the crotch-chain tobe attached to the pin on which said clevis member is mounted. This member D passes over the singletree E and has a bearing in the channeled plate F, secured to the forward edge of the singletree. This plate is made, preferably, of a malleable metal, so that after the'clevis member has been inserted in the channel of the plate the upwardly-extending portions may be bent over the member and partially, if not entirely, inclose same, as shown in the drawings. By this construction it will be noted that the singletree will have a slight longitudinal movement. At the opposite end of the spreader-bar the clevis member D is slightly modified from the construction shown in the member D. Said clevis member D has a contracted end, which is pivoted to the spreader-bar, and a recess similar to member D, in which an end of a crotch-chain engages; but instead of having a pivotal connection with the plate mounted on a singletree the clevis member D has two laterally-extending wings d, which are perforated, and pins or bolts K, passed through said perforations and into the sin'gletree, thus holding the clevis member rigid.

At the ends of the siugletree are the ferrules M, which have diametrically-opposite lugs N, which are provided to retain the whiffietreehooks R.

T T are springs which. are provided at the ends of the singletree. Each of these springs consists of a flat strip of spring metal, the body portion of which is preferably of a width corresponding with the thickness of the singletree-bar. These springs are attached at their inner ends securely to the upper face of the singletree-bar at points near the endsof said bar, and the body portions of the springs are curved upwardly, and their free ends, which are downwardly inclined, are provided with hooks T. The Whiffletree-hooks R are provided with an enlarged looped body, which portion of the body engages the hook T of the spring T and serves to normally hold the hook back against the end of the singletree. The lugs N upon the ferrule M at the end of the singletree serve to prevent the possibility of the hook being laterally displaced, as will be readily understood.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim to be new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A combination singletree and spreaderbar, consisting of opposite longitudinal members spaced apart at their middle portions by a transverse rod, singletree-clevises pivoted to each end of said bar, singletrees to which said clevises are connected, and crotch-chains secured to the ends of said bar, as set forth.

2. In combination with the spreader-bar, having a rod secured to the longitudinal por- 1 tions of the bar to hold same at a given disj tance apart, the clevis members having their over the bearing portion of the clevis, as set forth. I

4. The combination with a spreader-bar, of a clevis having a recessed lug disposed between the members of said bar, a pivot-pin passing through said bar and lug, a crotchchain secured to said pin within the recess of said lug, and a singletree extending through said clevis, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT F. KING. \Vitnesses:

J OHN MAXEY, J ABEZ M. WHITNEY. 

